New Delhi, Dec. 8 -- Apple is facing its most turbulent leadership moment in decades, and at the centre of the storm is a name little known outside Silicon Valley but revered within it: Johny Srouji. The senior vice-president of hardware technologies, often described as one of the company's most indispensable leaders, is reportedly weighing his future at Apple, a possibility that has sent ripples of concern through the organisation.

Srouji, who joined Apple in 2008, is widely credited with masterminding the company's in-house chip strategy. Under his leadership, Apple shifted from relying on external processors to building its own custom silicon, a transformation that powered major performance gains and helped set Apple's devices apart f...